DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Jalen Rose Leadership Academy in Detroit will expand after receiving a major donation from Henry Ford Health.
The health system has donated its former Kingswood Hospital, a 70,000-square-foot facility in Royal Oak Township, to the charter school.
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The announcement came during the 15th annual Jalen Rose Leadership Academy Celebrity Golf Classic at the Detroit Golf Club on Monday.
"We get zero state funding, so to have the support of Henry Ford Health and the donation of a facility just allows us to expand what we're doing. It's an incredible undertaking," said Jalen Rose, co-founder of Jalen Rose Leadership Academy and former NBA player.
Watch our full interview with Jalen Rose in the video player below:
The former behavioral health facility along West Eight Mile Road will be renovated to become the new high school campus for the academy, with construction expected to begin later this year.
"When we started thinking about how we were going to transition out of the behavioral hospital, we thought this may be a great option, and the opportunity to educate is part of what we do," said Jerry Darby, vice president of planning, development and design with Henry Ford Health.
The current Jalen Rose Leadership Academy building will be converted into a middle school, allowing the charter school to accept sixth through eighth graders for the first time.
"We currently serve 400 high school scholars and another 1,000 graduates because we have a 9-16 model," Rose said.
The new high school building will include amenities like a full-sized gymnasium, providing expanded opportunities for students.
NFL Hall of Famer Charles Woodson, who attended the celebrity golf classic, praised Rose's commitment to education.
"For him to be doing this for this long, this amount of time and the amount of kids' lives that he's affected, man I just take my hat off to him," Woodson said.
The annual golf classic serves as an important fundraiser for the tuition-free charter school. Rose said they're also hoping to raise money for the high school renovation, which will cost upward of $20 million.
"Events like this mean everything. They're paramount to what we do," Rose said.
Rose emphasized that the academy's mission is focused on student success.
"They're disciplined, they're hard working, they want to be successful. They have big goals, big dreams and we're here to help them chase them," Rose said.
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